Protect Your Daughters, Iron Their Breasts By Eva Fernández Ortiz *

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105316CARDIFF,
UK, Oct 1, 2011 (IPS/Street News Service) - "Please God, make my
breasts disappear." Joyce Forghab used to pray the same line every night
during the month she was suffering from breast ironing. The shocking
practice, carried out by a quarter of mothers in Cameroon, is meant to
reverse female sexual development.

Joyce was only eight years
old when the drama began. Her mother would take a flat stone and heat
it over the fire for several minutes until it was burning. "She
protected her hands because she knew it was really hot. She took it,
pressed it against my breasts and massaged them really well," recalls
Joyce, now 25 years old. "It was very, very painful… I had to run away
from the house. It was horrible."

Joyce's experience is no exception in Cameroon. An estimated one in four
girls suffers from the practice in their childhood. Breast ironing is a
traditional ritual in which, by using heated and flat objects, a girl's
growing breasts are pressed in order to suppress and reverse their
development. The act is usually performed by a girl's mother or aunt.

To iron breasts they mostly use a wooden pestle or a stone, other tools
employed include coconut shells, grinding stones, ladles, spatulas and
hammers – all carefully heated over burning coals.

"Breast ironing has existed as long as Cameroon has existed," says Sinou
Tchana, Cameroonian gynaecologist and vice-president of the Cameroonian
Association of Female Doctors. In the early nineties, when her
association started touring the ten regions of Cameroon to find out what
practices could have been affecting female sexuality, they were shocked
by the prevalence of breast ironing in most parts of the country.

"We explained that it was not good, but the mothers and the aunts told
us that it was normal for them that when the breasts are developing they
have to iron them to avoid their growing. They did not see the dangers
of what they were doing," explains Dr. Tchana.

Widespread

Renata, a women's association in Cameroon, reported in 2006 that the
breast ironing rate was most prevalent in two Cameroonian areas: the
Coast at 53 percent and the North-West, at 31 percent. Renata's study
also showed that it was more common in the Christian and Animist South
(30-50 percent) than in the Muslim North (10 percent).

Although breast ironing is most widely practised in Cameroon, it also
occurs in Guinea-Bissau, West and Central Africa, including Chad, Togo,
Benin and Guinea-Conakry.

Doctor Tchana often comes across both victims and perpetrators of the
ritual in her clinic. Often, mothers do not realise what they are doing
to their daughters. She recalls one woman coming in to the practice
about a year ago, begging for forgiveness:

"Forgive me doctor, I was not measuring the pain, but when I burnt
myself I realised the type of suffering my little girl had to endure,"
she cried. The woman was ironing her daughter's breast when she burnt
her hand. That is why she had come to see the doctor.

"When they take the stone from the fire they start ironing one breast
first. In the case of that girl, one was really, really destroyed; the
other one was not as bad. But the result is the same. Now one breast is
smaller than the other one," said Dr. Tchana.

Breast ironing leads to two main opposite effects on women's breasts. On
one hand, it can reduce its size considerably, leaving girls
flat-chested. Or, it provokes rather the opposite reaction: by
destroying the breast tissue, the breast just becomes a bag of fat
without any muscle or shape. This is what happened to Joyce.

"My breasts have collapsed because of breast ironing. It has nothing to
do with giving birth, because before having my child I already had the
problem. I cannot be without my bra; I need it all the time, even when I
am sleeping or feeding my baby," she said.

Dr. Tchana clarifies: "Really small breasts usually are due to the fact
that families used the 'right0 technique. This means the stones were not
too warm and the breasts are ironed equally all over. On the contrary,
when bad techniques are used – very hot stones and quick ironing –
oversized breasts and burning are major consequences. In all cases,
however, you have problems of reconstruction and it is very expensive
because nobody now would pay for it."

Apart from being painful and psychologically traumatic, breast ironing
exposes girls to multiple health problems. According to many medical
reports, it can lead to abscesses, itching, inability to breastfeed the
babies, infection, deformity or disappearance of the breasts, cysts,
tissue damage and even breast cancer.

"I had one girl who died of breast cancer aged 24. You can have breast
cancer in the cases in which the ironing is so intense that it destructs
all the breast tissue," explains Dr. Tchana.

So why?

With all the medical evidence present, why do a quarter of Cameroonian
girls still have to experience the torturous practice? Ze Jeanne, a
57-year-old Cameroonian woman and mother of eight, clarifies her
reasons. "When the breasts of a young girl start growing, any man can
come to her and try to have sex with her so, in order to help the girls
continue school, we have to do breast ironing," she says.

She sits calmly in an armchair in her house, twenty minutes from Yaoundé
city centre. Her daughter Clarisse is lying in a sofa next to her. Ze
explains that she ironed the breasts of all her daughters when they
started developing too early.

"In her case," says Ze pointing to Clarisse, "her breasts started
growing at nine, so I was obliged to do breast ironing to her in order
to stop it. I did not do it to destroy the breast, but to help the
girl," she insists.

Breast ironing is justified by Cameroonian women for many reasons. Apart
from being historically rooted in their culture, it is used to avoid
sexual contact between young girls and boys. By preventing girls' bodies
from the sign of emerging sexuality, mothers try to make sure that
their girls remain virginal and pure and prevent them from becoming
visibly fertile women - and potential mothers.

Mothers are not completely unjustified in their fears. Early sexual
encounters can lead these young teenagers to unwanted pregnancies,
unsafe abortions, possible rapes or the transmission of sexual diseases.
Burning girls' emerging breasts to many mothers seems a far better
option than the risk of the above. It is a measure born out of love and
care for their daughters, they argue. But does it work?

Most of the young victims of breast ironing say the practice is
extremely painful. And they insist that still does not prevent sexual
attention.

"It is not the best way of avoiding pregnancies because after all,
somebody like me can still get pregnant. I had a child before getting
married, so in my case it did not help at all. For me it (sexual
awareness) is all in the head. Once you get older, you think twice about
the risks you are taking," says Joyce.

Mother Ze sees the matter differently. She believes breast ironing has
saved her and her daughters from unwanted pregnancies by avoiding them
looking womanly too early. "My daughters have accepted that breast
ironing is part of our tradition. When the girl is still young, it is
risky for her to let her breasts develop. It is risky for her future. If
she would have an unwanted pregnancy at that age, things would be
difficult for her later on."

Although Ze believes her youngest daughter Clarisse accepts breast
ironing, the girl's reaction suggests something else. When Clarisse is
asked whether or not she will do it to her daughter, she replies
emphatically: "I would not do that to my child."

The taboo related to sexuality is huge and obvious throughout Cameroon.
Many girls are having their breasts ironed not even knowing why. "At the
age of nine, girls did not know about sex so I did not explain them
anything. However, when they were eleven and started asking: 'Why did
you do this to me when I was nine?' I gave them some explanations," says
mother Ze.

Joyce, on the other hand, demanded an explanation from the first moment
she had a burning stone on her chest. "My mum told me that I was too
young to have breasts and if she allowed me to have them then men would
come near me. She also said that I would not be able to grow tall," she
recalls.

Men have no idea

Joseph Ngondi, a 29-year-old Cameroonian man, came across breast ironing
when he was 26. He was in a hotel room with his new girlfriend. It was
their first night together. When she took her top off, he saw that
instead of breasts, she had two dark patches on her flat chest. He was
shocked.

"I started asking to myself what happened to that girl, I was even
afraid, thinking of an illness which could have affected her," says
Joseph, "The girl noticed my strange look at her breasts and decided to
hide them. She felt ashamed."

He asked her what happened to her breasts. "Then she revealed to me that
her mother ironed her breasts when she was 11. It was not easy for the
girl to decide to tell me that story."

Especially in cities, where breast ironing is performed as a
contraceptive method rather than a tradition alone, many men remain
unaware of the practice. Joseph was clueless about it, too: "It was only
at that moment that I realised what breast ironing really was. Before
that, I just used to hear about it, but without any explanation."

Many Cameroonian mothers who perform the ritual as a contraceptive
measure often do not talk about it with relatives. Georgette Taku,
executive secretary of Renata's women's association, explains: "They
hide it because sometimes there is no discussion in the family about
sexual education. Plus, women are the ones supposed to take care of the
children and, eventually, if the girl becomes pregnant, the mother is
the one to blame."

According to Taku, in many Cameroonian families when a young teenager
becomes pregnant, the father can force both mother and daughter to leave
the house.

On the other hand, in rural areas where breast ironing is performed as a
ritual more than as a contraceptive method, men are completely aware of
it. "There is nothing to hide. It is not a bad thing according to the
tradition and everyone in the family should be present," says mother Ze.

Breast ironing victim Joyce agrees with this, and says some men in rural
areas even perform the practice themselves: "Every man knows about it
and if their wife has passed away, they are supposed to do it."

"Grandma wants to burn me"

"Mama, mama… Please, come! Grandma wants to burn me!" This is the
desperate call that Dr. Tchana received from her daughter Kat in 1997.

"She was 11 years old then and was spending her holidays in Bangangté,
the village I come from. My mother-in-law is a very qualified midwife
there and wanted to iron Kat's breasts. I will never forget my
daughter's call, she was so afraid. I said to Kat: 'Do not worry, I am
coming, just tell Grandma that you want Mama to be there when you are
having breast ironing'."

It was a Friday, 7pm, and Dr. Tchana took her car and raced to the
village. "My mother-in-law was very angry because my daughter had called
me. I told her not to do it, 'I am a doctor, I know better than you', I
said. She told me that she was a nurse and she also knew what she was
doing. Finally, Kat's breast were not ironed, I would never have allowed
it."

Origins

The geographical origins of breast ironing are unclear. While many
Cameroonians claim that it is a tradition from the rural areas, other
sources such as the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) reported
in 2007 that it was more frequently practiced in cities than in
villages.

It has been little more than a century since Cameroon developed cities
such as Yaoundé, its political capital, founded in 1888; or Douala, its
economic capital and the largest Cameroonian city. This might reinforce
the 'rural origin' hypothesis. Plus, the fact that breast ironing is
more publicly criticised in cities, might convey the perception that its
practice is higher in rural areas.

Nevertheless, the 'city origin' argument also carries weight. Since
Cameroonian girls' rate of studies is considerably higher in cities than
in villages, mothers may well be more likely to practice of breast
ironing so their daughters keep up with their studies without being
burdened by an unwanted pregnancy.

Dr. Tchana says that it is practised both in cities and in rural areas,
but argues the risk is higher in cities. "Because of the pain that
breast ironing causes, many young girls run away from their houses.
While in villages they would go to their aunt's, Chief's or neighbours'
home, the city has more dangers outside."

Ironically, the practice this way can lead to more unwanted pregnancies.
As Dr. Tchana explains: "Many of these (runaway) girls have nothing and
live in their boyfriend's house. If he asks her for sex she feels she
cannot say no... What else can they do?"

Bellies targeted

Unfortunately, breasts are not the only target for "ironing" in
Cameroon. Belly ironing, also known as postpartum massaging, is another
harmful traditional practice present in the country. According to
Renata, it is even more widespread than breast ironing, being just as
painful and also leaving women with horrible physical and psychic scars.

In belly ironing, a traditional broom steeped in boiling water is used
to whip the belly of a woman who has just given birth. Then, a towel is
soaked in boiling water to massage the different parts of the body and
in some regions, the woman is asked to sit on a bucket of hot water so
the vapour penetrates her vagina and uterus.

Even this can cause burns, vaginal infections, cervix damage or scars,
Cameroonian women accept it because the tradition says that it is very
important to evacuate the remaining blood after delivering a baby.

"It is practically impossible not to notice that the massage is being
done in the neighbourhood because the painful cry of the victim awakes
the neighbours early in the morning," mentions Renata's guide about
sexual health.

It is not unusual to walk around Yaoundé's neighbourhood and hear the
desperate cry of a girl coming from a house. The anxiety felt by a
foreigner thinking "What is going on in there?," "What is happening to
that poor girl?" is in contrast with the apparent indifference shown by
Cameroonians, who continue with their lives without paying any attention
to the shouts.

A sign of sexual maturity

Traditional harmful practices against women are manifold across human
history. They include tortures such as Chinese foot binding,
rib-breaking corsets, female genital mutilation and the chastity belt of
the Middle Ages. All shared a common purpose: to benefit men, either by
assuring women's fidelity or by improving their beauty according to
contemporary taste.

Breast ironing is different. Instead of trying to benefit men, this is
one of the few practices that tortures women for their own "good" in a
distorted effort by women on women to protect them from men by making
them less desirable.

In understanding Cameroonian society, the significance of breasts and
their symbolic value must be taken into account. "A girl can get married
as soon as she starts having breasts," explains Renata's spokesperson
Taku. "The breasts show that a girl is ready to have sex."

During her school days, Joyce was known as "Miss Lolo" alluding to her
early growing breasts. "I felt very, very ashamed. I thought, 'If my
parents are ironing my breasts at that age it means that I am not
supposed to have them.' To have breasts was like a taboo, like something
bad. So I used to walk putting my hand over my breast in order that
people do not to see it. I was not feeling free."

Ze's mother did it to her, Ze did it to her daughters and she has no
doubt that one day she will do it to her granddaughters, too. She
doesn't feel she owes anyone an explanation: "Most of us Bantu people do
it as a tradition, without any specific explanation. You just have to
accept it like that." This is how most of Cameroonian girls are expected
to deal with breast ironing. Accepting it and, as Joyce did, praying
God to make their breasts disappear.